Acercar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of acercar — “to bring closer” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for acercar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Acercar means to bring closer, and it is used for moving things near and for bringing people together: you bring a chair closer to the table, you bring two friends together, you bring a deadline forward. Without an object it can also mean to come closer, as in acercarse, its reflexive partner. Acercar is a spelling-changing verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Acerco la silla a la mesa.

Present tense conjugation table: acercar

Every person of acercar in the present tense. The gerund is acercando and the past participle is acercado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo acerco
tú acercas
él/ella/Ud. acerca
nosotros/as acercamos
vosotros/as acercáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. acercan

How the present of acercar is formed

The present of acercar is built from the stem acerc- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o acerco
tú -as acercas
él/ella/Ud. -a acerca
nosotros/as -amos acercamos
vosotros/as -áis acercáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an acercan

For acercar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem acerc- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with acercar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo acerco la silla a la mesa. — I bring the chair closer to the table.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella acerca el libro a mis ojos. — He brings the book closer to my eyes.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as acercamos dos posturas en la negociación. — Right now, We bring two positions closer in the negotiation.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú acercas la fecha del examen. — Tomorrow, You bring the exam date closer.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella acerca la silla a la mesa. — He brings the chair closer to the table.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with acercar.

  1. Yo acerco la silla a la mesa. — I bring the chair closer to the table. / Ayer, Yo acerqué la silla a la mesa. — Yesterday, I brought the chair closer to the table.
  2. Yo acerco el libro a mis ojos. — I bring the book closer to my eyes. / Ayer, Yo acerqué el libro a mis ojos. — Yesterday, I brought the book closer to my eyes.
  3. Yo acerco dos posturas en la negociación. — I bring two positions closer in the negotiation. / Ayer, Yo acerqué dos posturas en la negociación. — Yesterday, I brought two positions closer in the negotiation.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with acercar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo acerco la silla a la mesa. — I bring the chair closer to the table.
  2. Tú acercas el libro a mis ojos. — You bring the book closer to my eyes.
  3. Él/Ella acerca dos posturas en la negociación. — He brings two positions closer in the negotiation.
  4. Nosotros/as acercamos la fecha del examen. — We bring the exam date closer.
  5. Vosotros/as acercáis la silla a la mesa. — You bring the chair closer to the table.
  6. Ellos/as acercan el libro a mis ojos. — They bring the book closer to my eyes.
  7. Yo acerco dos posturas en la negociación. — I bring two positions closer in the negotiation.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo acerca la silla a la mesa. — Right: Yo acerco la silla a la mesa. — The person matters: acerca is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is acerco.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo acerco el libro a mis ojos. — Right: Ayer, yo acerqué el libro a mis ojos. — With ayer, use the preterite (acerqué), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using acercar where aproximar belongs. — Right: Acercar means to bring closer, while aproximar means to bring nearer. — Check the meaning before you choose: acercar fits Acerco la silla a la mesa.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él acerca el libro a mis ojos. — Right: Espero que él acerque el libro a mis ojos. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: acerque, not the present indicative acerca.

Quiz: the present tense of acercar

Eight questions on the present tense of acercar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la silla a la mesa. (present tense, yo) A. acerco B. acercas C. acerca D. acercamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el libro a mis ojos. (present tense, tú) A. acerco B. acerca C. acercamos D. acercas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ dos posturas en la negociación. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. acercas B. acercamos C. acerca D. acerco

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ la fecha del examen. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. acerca B. acercamos C. acerco D. acercas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la silla a la mesa. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. acercáis B. acerco C. acercas D. acerca

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el libro a mis ojos. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. acerco B. acercas C. acerca D. acercan

  7. Which is the gerund of acercar? A. acerco B. acerqué C. acercando D. acercado

  8. Which is the past participle of acercar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. acerqué B. acercado C. acercando D. acerco

Answer key

  1. acerco — The yo present form of acercar is acerco.
  2. acercas — The tú present form of acercar is acercas.
  3. acerca — The él/ella/Ud. present form of acercar is acerca.
  4. acercamos — The nosotros/as present form of acercar is acercamos.
  5. acercáis — The vosotros/as present form of acercar is acercáis.
  6. acercan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of acercar is acercan.
  7. acercando — The gerund of acercar is acercando: estoy acercando.
  8. acercado — The past participle of acercar is acercado: he acercado, has acercado, ha acercado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of acercar formed?

Take the infinitive acercar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem acerc-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of acercar is fully regular: the stem acerc- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of acercar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Acerco la silla a la mesa.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of acercar?

The present (acerco) and the preterite (acerqué) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of acercar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of acercar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the acercar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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